Selection of the day
The selection of James Tredwell and his subsequent success raised an interesting question for England. Graeme Swann believed he was fit enough to play but the England management, keen not to risk him ahead of the Ashes, left him out to avoid any chance of his calf strain becoming a tear and compromising his availability. Bearing in mind how well Tredwell fared, though, it does raise the question of who will win selection for the final if both men are fully fit.

Stumping of the day
If you bowl a brilliant offbreak, beat the bat, the ball hits the pad and goes to slip and slip takes off the bails as the batsman is stranded down the wicket, the dismissal is recorded as a run-out. Even though the batsman was not attempting a run and, had the exact same thing happened and a wicketkeeper taken off the bails, it would have been a stumping and the bowler would have been credited with a well-deserved wicket. But that's what happened to Tredwell, after a smart bit of fielding from Jonathan Trott.

Drop of the day
If South Africa were to have any chance of clawing their way back into this game, they had to take every chance offered to them in the field. As it was, though, Joe Root was on 16 when he was beaten by one from Chris Morris only to see his inside edge evade the diving AB de Villiers behind the stumps. England would have been 92 for 3 had it been taken.

Catch of the dayJos Buttler is still learning his trade as a keeper but he produced an outstanding performance in this game to underline his improvement and potential. He claimed six catches in all - equalling the record for a keeper in ODIs, the third Englishman to do so alongside Matt Prior and Alec Stewart - with the best of them an outstanding, diving catch down the leg side to dismiss Rory Kleinveldt.

Set-up of the day
When Steven Finn was taken off after three overs and Stuart Broad's first two overs were expensive, it seemed South Africa might fight their way back into the game. But then James Anderson came around the wicket to Robin Peterson. Four straight outswingers that landed within a few inches of each other set Petersen up; the straight one that followed dismissed him. It precipitated a decline that saw South Africa collapse from 45 for 2 to 80 for 8.

Delivery of the day
Like R Ashwin, Robert Croft and Saeed Ajmal, Tim Bresnan's wife, Hannah, appears to have mastered the art of pausing just before delivery. Bresnan missed training on Tuesday in order to spend time with his wife, with the England management having arranged a driver to take him back to The Oval in time for the game. The baby appeared as hard to get out as Jonathan Trott but, shortly after England's victory, the birth of Max Geoffrey Bresnan was confirmed.

Lap of the day
The break between innings allowed the Cricketeers, the volunteers who have done so much to make the Champions Trophy such a success, the chance to take a lap of honour around the boundary at The Oval's playing surface. Around 2,600 people volunteered to help with this tournament, with 800 selected to help supporters with directions to and around the ground, to support the media and to fulfil a multitude of other tasks that aid spectators' enjoyment of the games. Immediately recognisable with their red shirts and over-sized foam fingers, they have been cheerful and willing, with the idea considered such a success that it will be repeated to help with the Ashes.

CTD Would not play Buttler as an opener but I certainly would try him a bit further up the order and give hime more time/responsibility.
As JMC points out we have had an aggressive opener in our side whereby we had success in KP. In fact it was probably when we started our rise up the rankings with KP opening. However KP often batted at 3 in ODIs anyway so was often coming in during the early overs.

@Landl - Just 2 points

1 - If there was a choice between keeping the side exactly as it is or bringing back KP at the expense of Bell , what would your decision be?

2 - Re Kieswetter - His stats aren't as bad as you may imagine. He averages 30 with the bat which isn't that great but his SR is 89 which is better than anyone in the top 5 and KP too. Compare to Cool (ave 39 SR 78) and Bell (37/75) It's not that much diffence. You're down by 9 and 7 respectively on averages with Craig in the side but up by over 11 and over 15 on the SRs.

JG2704
on June 20, 2013, 12:27 GMT

Quite an interesting debate about the side. Now I think we all agree that KP gets into our best ODI side. So presuming the selectors agree with us , someone has to make way.
Now we have 5 batsmen (6 if you include Buttler , 7 inc Bopara). By outing Buttler (which I don't agree with but giving as a possible scenario) you'd still not be able to replace him with KP as you'd have no WK. You'd lose Bopara's overs by outing him and if you were to lose Bopara's overs surely it would be at the expense of a bowler. We surely can't depend on Root bowling 10 overs.
Morgan would be a like for like and I'm not sure how much longer he'll be playing for England , but I'd still keep him in the side. So that would leave Root,Trott and Bell. Root's overs are useful and I think he has the capability of playing 2 types of inns. So for me it's between the top 3.
So for me it's Bell. Trott is more consistent and Cook is captain

dummy4fb
on June 20, 2013, 7:41 GMT

@YorkshirePudding. He'll only be three days old!

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 7:25 GMT

@landl47 on (June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT), I can't say that I necessarily agree with opening with Buttler either but let's not forget that KP did pretty well opening in ODIs before his retirement and Bell's reinstatement. I've actually been rather disappointed with Bell as an opener, despite my having said that I thought it was a good idea long before it happened and his being my favourite batsman to watch. England have obviously decided that the slow and steady approach is the way to go and Bell is playing to instructions and it has ended up with his scoring more slowly than Cook and Trott. That's simply a waste of his talents. If England are going to bring KP back into the ODI team then who does he replace? On current form you'd probably say Morgan but I'm not sure that that will happen. Buttler is safe as he's the keeper and Cook's the captain so that leaves Trott, Root or Bell. At the moment, of those three, I'd choose Bell to go. Maybe top-order rotation is the answer.

YorkshirePudding
on June 20, 2013, 5:30 GMT

Congrats to Bresnan on the birth of his Son, hopefully we'll see him in the Final Against Ind/SL.

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 4:08 GMT

On the subject of wicket-keepers, while it strictly a drop of Root by de Villiers, I don't think that anyone could reasonably hold it against him. Excellent delivery but it's always harder for a keeper on the inside edge than the outside. As for Buttler, he had an excellent game. He's obviously still a work in progress and would be helped significantly by keeping for his county, but he looked the goods today. Most importantly, he looked sharp while up to the stumps as well, which will generally do more to sort the men from the boys. I guess that his only regret will be that Trott got more stumpings than him to day. ;-) At least he had the presence of mind to get out of the way so that Trott could hit the stumps.

ARad
on June 20, 2013, 1:25 GMT

May I suggest that cricinfo publishes the best 'Plays of the Day' nuggets and as part of the end of the year in review? Firdose Moonda always does a good job but today is England's day off the field too. Dobell's 'Delivery of the Day' is a ripper! Congrats to the happy couple!

landl47
on June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT

Sorry, Shan156, but I totally disagree. England has tried and tried that route and it's never been a success. Kieswetter, Lumb, even Matt Prior- all stuck in at the top of the order to give England a fast start and all failing in 3 out of every 4 innings and giving the opposition the advantage. I see nothing whatever in Buttler's technique or record to suggest that he would be any different. He'll play one good innings then fail 3 or 4 times. Hopefully over time he'll improve, but he needs to improve at #7, not #1.

England's quality test players have shown that they can play ODI cricket. It's not T20. If England has a top 5 of Cook, Bell, Trott, Pietersen and Root they will give England a competitive total 9 out of 10 times. Then it's up to the bowlers (and a little more aggression in the field from Cook) to handle the opposition- as they did today.

wgtnpom
on June 19, 2013, 20:20 GMT

I know the run out was made possible by Tredwell's brilliance and he deserves credit but the Laws are clear - a slip fielder has no capability of performing a stumping. A run out is achieved by brilliance in the field, which is why these days fielders get a scorecard credit even if not a statistical one in their playing record. Trott still had to throw down the stumps (and Buttler had to get out of the way rather acrobatically, which was a good piece of fielding in its own way too). It's a bit like a batsman getting softened up by a couple of fast bouncers and then in the next over mistiming a slow half volley from another bowler and offering an easy catch. How often does that happen yet no-one suggests the credit go to the guy who bowled the previous over.

Anyway anyone who saw yesterday's game will always remember Tredwell's match winning (and MOM winning) performance and he must now be the heir apparent to Swann's crown - sorry Monty...

Shan156
on June 19, 2013, 18:16 GMT

@Front-Foot-Lunge, don't forget Trott. As much as I think England should introduce a power hitter in the top 3, Trott's presence at #3 today was reassuring considering England were only chasing 176. I think Ian Bell needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he either has to give England an explosive start or should be demoted. Why not try Buttler at the top of the innings? Bopara showed that he is no slouch when it comes to big shots at the end of the innings and Morgan is a good finisher even though he is out of form. May not be too silly to try Buttler at the top. Of course, I am not suggesting that England take this approach in the finals. Whatever they have tried so far has served them well, so they should stick to that approach. But, in future ODIs, we need some power at the top.

JG2704
on June 20, 2013, 12:54 GMT

CTD Would not play Buttler as an opener but I certainly would try him a bit further up the order and give hime more time/responsibility.
As JMC points out we have had an aggressive opener in our side whereby we had success in KP. In fact it was probably when we started our rise up the rankings with KP opening. However KP often batted at 3 in ODIs anyway so was often coming in during the early overs.

@Landl - Just 2 points

1 - If there was a choice between keeping the side exactly as it is or bringing back KP at the expense of Bell , what would your decision be?

2 - Re Kieswetter - His stats aren't as bad as you may imagine. He averages 30 with the bat which isn't that great but his SR is 89 which is better than anyone in the top 5 and KP too. Compare to Cool (ave 39 SR 78) and Bell (37/75) It's not that much diffence. You're down by 9 and 7 respectively on averages with Craig in the side but up by over 11 and over 15 on the SRs.

JG2704
on June 20, 2013, 12:27 GMT

Quite an interesting debate about the side. Now I think we all agree that KP gets into our best ODI side. So presuming the selectors agree with us , someone has to make way.
Now we have 5 batsmen (6 if you include Buttler , 7 inc Bopara). By outing Buttler (which I don't agree with but giving as a possible scenario) you'd still not be able to replace him with KP as you'd have no WK. You'd lose Bopara's overs by outing him and if you were to lose Bopara's overs surely it would be at the expense of a bowler. We surely can't depend on Root bowling 10 overs.
Morgan would be a like for like and I'm not sure how much longer he'll be playing for England , but I'd still keep him in the side. So that would leave Root,Trott and Bell. Root's overs are useful and I think he has the capability of playing 2 types of inns. So for me it's between the top 3.
So for me it's Bell. Trott is more consistent and Cook is captain

dummy4fb
on June 20, 2013, 7:41 GMT

@YorkshirePudding. He'll only be three days old!

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 7:25 GMT

@landl47 on (June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT), I can't say that I necessarily agree with opening with Buttler either but let's not forget that KP did pretty well opening in ODIs before his retirement and Bell's reinstatement. I've actually been rather disappointed with Bell as an opener, despite my having said that I thought it was a good idea long before it happened and his being my favourite batsman to watch. England have obviously decided that the slow and steady approach is the way to go and Bell is playing to instructions and it has ended up with his scoring more slowly than Cook and Trott. That's simply a waste of his talents. If England are going to bring KP back into the ODI team then who does he replace? On current form you'd probably say Morgan but I'm not sure that that will happen. Buttler is safe as he's the keeper and Cook's the captain so that leaves Trott, Root or Bell. At the moment, of those three, I'd choose Bell to go. Maybe top-order rotation is the answer.

YorkshirePudding
on June 20, 2013, 5:30 GMT

Congrats to Bresnan on the birth of his Son, hopefully we'll see him in the Final Against Ind/SL.

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 4:08 GMT

On the subject of wicket-keepers, while it strictly a drop of Root by de Villiers, I don't think that anyone could reasonably hold it against him. Excellent delivery but it's always harder for a keeper on the inside edge than the outside. As for Buttler, he had an excellent game. He's obviously still a work in progress and would be helped significantly by keeping for his county, but he looked the goods today. Most importantly, he looked sharp while up to the stumps as well, which will generally do more to sort the men from the boys. I guess that his only regret will be that Trott got more stumpings than him to day. ;-) At least he had the presence of mind to get out of the way so that Trott could hit the stumps.

ARad
on June 20, 2013, 1:25 GMT

May I suggest that cricinfo publishes the best 'Plays of the Day' nuggets and as part of the end of the year in review? Firdose Moonda always does a good job but today is England's day off the field too. Dobell's 'Delivery of the Day' is a ripper! Congrats to the happy couple!

landl47
on June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT

Sorry, Shan156, but I totally disagree. England has tried and tried that route and it's never been a success. Kieswetter, Lumb, even Matt Prior- all stuck in at the top of the order to give England a fast start and all failing in 3 out of every 4 innings and giving the opposition the advantage. I see nothing whatever in Buttler's technique or record to suggest that he would be any different. He'll play one good innings then fail 3 or 4 times. Hopefully over time he'll improve, but he needs to improve at #7, not #1.

England's quality test players have shown that they can play ODI cricket. It's not T20. If England has a top 5 of Cook, Bell, Trott, Pietersen and Root they will give England a competitive total 9 out of 10 times. Then it's up to the bowlers (and a little more aggression in the field from Cook) to handle the opposition- as they did today.

wgtnpom
on June 19, 2013, 20:20 GMT

I know the run out was made possible by Tredwell's brilliance and he deserves credit but the Laws are clear - a slip fielder has no capability of performing a stumping. A run out is achieved by brilliance in the field, which is why these days fielders get a scorecard credit even if not a statistical one in their playing record. Trott still had to throw down the stumps (and Buttler had to get out of the way rather acrobatically, which was a good piece of fielding in its own way too). It's a bit like a batsman getting softened up by a couple of fast bouncers and then in the next over mistiming a slow half volley from another bowler and offering an easy catch. How often does that happen yet no-one suggests the credit go to the guy who bowled the previous over.

Anyway anyone who saw yesterday's game will always remember Tredwell's match winning (and MOM winning) performance and he must now be the heir apparent to Swann's crown - sorry Monty...

Shan156
on June 19, 2013, 18:16 GMT

@Front-Foot-Lunge, don't forget Trott. As much as I think England should introduce a power hitter in the top 3, Trott's presence at #3 today was reassuring considering England were only chasing 176. I think Ian Bell needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he either has to give England an explosive start or should be demoted. Why not try Buttler at the top of the innings? Bopara showed that he is no slouch when it comes to big shots at the end of the innings and Morgan is a good finisher even though he is out of form. May not be too silly to try Buttler at the top. Of course, I am not suggesting that England take this approach in the finals. Whatever they have tried so far has served them well, so they should stick to that approach. But, in future ODIs, we need some power at the top.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on June 19, 2013, 17:31 GMT

Super keeping by Buttler, awesome bowling from Jimmy and Tredders, but well backed up by the rest. England absolutely dominated South Africa, and are deserved finalists. They have handed out as big a thrashing here of the type they give Australia on a regular basis. This game was won by the bowlers.

wgtnpom
on June 19, 2013, 20:20 GMT

I know the run out was made possible by Tredwell's brilliance and he deserves credit but the Laws are clear - a slip fielder has no capability of performing a stumping. A run out is achieved by brilliance in the field, which is why these days fielders get a scorecard credit even if not a statistical one in their playing record. Trott still had to throw down the stumps (and Buttler had to get out of the way rather acrobatically, which was a good piece of fielding in its own way too). It's a bit like a batsman getting softened up by a couple of fast bouncers and then in the next over mistiming a slow half volley from another bowler and offering an easy catch. How often does that happen yet no-one suggests the credit go to the guy who bowled the previous over.

Anyway anyone who saw yesterday's game will always remember Tredwell's match winning (and MOM winning) performance and he must now be the heir apparent to Swann's crown - sorry Monty...

Front-Foot-Lunge
on June 19, 2013, 17:31 GMT

Super keeping by Buttler, awesome bowling from Jimmy and Tredders, but well backed up by the rest. England absolutely dominated South Africa, and are deserved finalists. They have handed out as big a thrashing here of the type they give Australia on a regular basis. This game was won by the bowlers.

Shan156
on June 19, 2013, 18:16 GMT

@Front-Foot-Lunge, don't forget Trott. As much as I think England should introduce a power hitter in the top 3, Trott's presence at #3 today was reassuring considering England were only chasing 176. I think Ian Bell needs to be told in no uncertain terms that he either has to give England an explosive start or should be demoted. Why not try Buttler at the top of the innings? Bopara showed that he is no slouch when it comes to big shots at the end of the innings and Morgan is a good finisher even though he is out of form. May not be too silly to try Buttler at the top. Of course, I am not suggesting that England take this approach in the finals. Whatever they have tried so far has served them well, so they should stick to that approach. But, in future ODIs, we need some power at the top.

wgtnpom
on June 19, 2013, 20:20 GMT

I know the run out was made possible by Tredwell's brilliance and he deserves credit but the Laws are clear - a slip fielder has no capability of performing a stumping. A run out is achieved by brilliance in the field, which is why these days fielders get a scorecard credit even if not a statistical one in their playing record. Trott still had to throw down the stumps (and Buttler had to get out of the way rather acrobatically, which was a good piece of fielding in its own way too). It's a bit like a batsman getting softened up by a couple of fast bouncers and then in the next over mistiming a slow half volley from another bowler and offering an easy catch. How often does that happen yet no-one suggests the credit go to the guy who bowled the previous over.

Anyway anyone who saw yesterday's game will always remember Tredwell's match winning (and MOM winning) performance and he must now be the heir apparent to Swann's crown - sorry Monty...

landl47
on June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT

Sorry, Shan156, but I totally disagree. England has tried and tried that route and it's never been a success. Kieswetter, Lumb, even Matt Prior- all stuck in at the top of the order to give England a fast start and all failing in 3 out of every 4 innings and giving the opposition the advantage. I see nothing whatever in Buttler's technique or record to suggest that he would be any different. He'll play one good innings then fail 3 or 4 times. Hopefully over time he'll improve, but he needs to improve at #7, not #1.

England's quality test players have shown that they can play ODI cricket. It's not T20. If England has a top 5 of Cook, Bell, Trott, Pietersen and Root they will give England a competitive total 9 out of 10 times. Then it's up to the bowlers (and a little more aggression in the field from Cook) to handle the opposition- as they did today.

ARad
on June 20, 2013, 1:25 GMT

May I suggest that cricinfo publishes the best 'Plays of the Day' nuggets and as part of the end of the year in review? Firdose Moonda always does a good job but today is England's day off the field too. Dobell's 'Delivery of the Day' is a ripper! Congrats to the happy couple!

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 4:08 GMT

On the subject of wicket-keepers, while it strictly a drop of Root by de Villiers, I don't think that anyone could reasonably hold it against him. Excellent delivery but it's always harder for a keeper on the inside edge than the outside. As for Buttler, he had an excellent game. He's obviously still a work in progress and would be helped significantly by keeping for his county, but he looked the goods today. Most importantly, he looked sharp while up to the stumps as well, which will generally do more to sort the men from the boys. I guess that his only regret will be that Trott got more stumpings than him to day. ;-) At least he had the presence of mind to get out of the way so that Trott could hit the stumps.

YorkshirePudding
on June 20, 2013, 5:30 GMT

Congrats to Bresnan on the birth of his Son, hopefully we'll see him in the Final Against Ind/SL.

jmcilhinney
on June 20, 2013, 7:25 GMT

@landl47 on (June 19, 2013, 21:26 GMT), I can't say that I necessarily agree with opening with Buttler either but let's not forget that KP did pretty well opening in ODIs before his retirement and Bell's reinstatement. I've actually been rather disappointed with Bell as an opener, despite my having said that I thought it was a good idea long before it happened and his being my favourite batsman to watch. England have obviously decided that the slow and steady approach is the way to go and Bell is playing to instructions and it has ended up with his scoring more slowly than Cook and Trott. That's simply a waste of his talents. If England are going to bring KP back into the ODI team then who does he replace? On current form you'd probably say Morgan but I'm not sure that that will happen. Buttler is safe as he's the keeper and Cook's the captain so that leaves Trott, Root or Bell. At the moment, of those three, I'd choose Bell to go. Maybe top-order rotation is the answer.

dummy4fb
on June 20, 2013, 7:41 GMT

@YorkshirePudding. He'll only be three days old!

JG2704
on June 20, 2013, 12:27 GMT

Quite an interesting debate about the side. Now I think we all agree that KP gets into our best ODI side. So presuming the selectors agree with us , someone has to make way.
Now we have 5 batsmen (6 if you include Buttler , 7 inc Bopara). By outing Buttler (which I don't agree with but giving as a possible scenario) you'd still not be able to replace him with KP as you'd have no WK. You'd lose Bopara's overs by outing him and if you were to lose Bopara's overs surely it would be at the expense of a bowler. We surely can't depend on Root bowling 10 overs.
Morgan would be a like for like and I'm not sure how much longer he'll be playing for England , but I'd still keep him in the side. So that would leave Root,Trott and Bell. Root's overs are useful and I think he has the capability of playing 2 types of inns. So for me it's between the top 3.
So for me it's Bell. Trott is more consistent and Cook is captain